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The UCLA Bruins are not supposed to win football games like this.
No way. Not on the road in front of a hostile Tennessee crowd of 102,239 in a game that featured a fourth-quarter goal-line stand by the Bruins and a couple of key late officiating calls that did not go in their favor.
This just does not happen for a Pac-10 football program in SEC land. But it did.
In what could be a turning-point victory for UCLA's football program under second-year coach Rick Neuheisel, the Bruins capitalized on three Tennessee interceptions and used four field goals by Kai Forbath to defeat the Volunteers, 19-15, Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
For the Bruins, who improved to 2-0 this season, the win not only gave them two victories in two years over Tennessee but it also helped raise the Pac-10 conference's status against overhyped teams from the SEC.
"We're young and we're too naive to know how hard it is," Neuheisel told ESPN after the game. "But they are resilient and they're tough. And we can build something from this and hopefully, we'll go back and fix all of the little things that we can do better. But when you have a little heart and you have a little toughness, you can be a good football team."
UCLA's defense, which held Tennessee to 208 total yards, proved to be the difference, forcing four turnovers, including two interceptions made by safety Rahim Moore (top photo), who has five in two games this season.
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Florida State running back Chris Thompson, left, has his face mask grabbed by Jacksonville State linebacker Rodney Garrott on a fourth-quarter run during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, in Tallahassee, Fla. Florida State won 19-9. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)
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Illinois' Chris Duvalt (15) and Troy Pollard (29) celebrate after Duvalt scored a touchdown against Illinois State during the first half of an NCAA college football game at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
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Kansas receiver Dezmon Briscoe, top, tries to elude a tackle by UTEP defender Da'Mon Cromartie Smith during the second quarter of their NCAA college football game Saturday Sept. 12, 2009, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Victor Calzada)
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Central Florida quarterback Rob Calabrese (4) looks for an open man against Southern Mississippi in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Hattiesburg, Miss., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Steve Coleman)
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Kansas fan Charis Woodside cheers his team during the first half of their NCAA college football game against UTEP, Saturday Sept. 12, 2009, in El Paso, Texas. Woodside said he and friends traveled from Lawrence to root their team on. (AP Photo/Victor Calzada)
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Jacksonville State quarterback Ryan Perrilloux throws a fourth-quarter pass during an NCAA college football game against Florida State, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, in Tallahassee, Fla. Florida State won 19-9. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)
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UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe, bottom right, is helped to his feet by teammate Tanner Cullumber after he was sacked by Kansas' Caleb Blakesley (94) and Richard Johnson during the first quarter of their NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Victor Calzada)
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A Rutgers fan crowd surfs after Rutgers scored a second-quarter touchdown against Howard during a college football game at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, N.J., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)
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Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez speaks into his headset on the sidelines in the first half of an NCAA college football game with Notre Dame, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, in Ann Arbor. Michigan upset No. 18 Notre Dame 38-34. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)
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Southern Mississippi tight end Leroy Banks (84) gets upended into the end zone for a touchdown by Central Florida safety Michael Greco (2) during the first quarter of a NCAA football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 in Hattiesburg, Miss. (APPhoto/Steve Coleman)
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While Tennessee, which dropped to 1-1, had trouble holding on to the football, avoiding costly turnovers was a key for the Bruins as redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince did not throw an interception and finished 11 of 23 for 101 yards with a touchdown.
The deciding point of the game came in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter with UCLA leading, 19-13. Tennessee, which finally had momentum on its side and the crowd fired up after trailing throughout the contest, drove 53 yards to the Bruins' 2-yard line but on fourth-and-goal, running back Montario Hardesty was stopped short of a touchdown.
"Our goal was keep coming after them and get them tired," Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin told reporters after the game.
Unfortunately for the Volunteers, the Bruins' defense caught a second wind and with the game on the line, a Pac-10 team stuffed an SEC ground attack in the trenches when it counted.
But even after UCLA's defensive stand, Tennessee still had a chance to win.That's because three plays after Hardesty failed to score, Prince was tackled by the Volunteers' Dennis Rogan in the end zone for a safety to cut the Bruins' lead to 19-15 with 1:41 remaining.
Tennessee, however, could not get it done down the stretch with quarterback Jonathan Crompton, who completed 13 of 26 passes for only 93 yards with three picks. Crompton missed badly on three attempts and was sacked on second down. The Volunteers even got an extra chance due to an offside UCLA penalty, but Crompton again fell short on a pass attempt to Gerald Jones.
For Neuheisel, the victory is only a step in the right direction for the Bruins.
"I spoke to the team in the early portion of the season about getting UCLA on the mantle where we can go to black tie affairs," Neuheisel said. "This is a start and we're not ready for there yet. But gosh all mighty we aim to get there."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-12-2009 @ 11:36PM
Jim said...
Lonnie White: you're comment re: "overhyped SEC teams" says all I need to know; you're an idiot and you know little about the BEST football conference in the country. If the SEC is so overhyped, why do they have the most marquee players in the NFL, the most NCAA championships, bowl victories, teams in the top 25, etc., why why why? Because they have the best players and coaches and FANS! So check the facts, Lonnie White, and get 'em straight before you start typing your biased 'opinion' and calling it 'journalism'. What a joke!
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9-13-2009 @ 6:53PM
cjgdnight said...
Jim, Your comment is amazingly igonorant.. the SEC is overhyped.
Ohio State and USC have 77 and 66 players drafted respectively since 2000... the top 4 SEC teams don't come close to that number... Ohio state has more starters in the NFL than FLA has drafted into the NFL in the last 4 years.... that is why your conference is overhyped... ALA was losing after three quarters to an anemic VT and LSU barely beat a PAC 10 team by 8 that has lost 15 straght games. Okst (who lost to a terrible team this week) beat the crap out of a lousy GA team. FLA is for real prob nat champ, MISS looks pretty good but hasn't played anyone... but outside them... you ain't got much!
9-13-2009 @ 12:34AM
timjofred said...
Obviously, Jim is a SEC fanatic and overzealous in the defense of his conference. Best this, best that, etc. Please dude, chill out. The SEC is overrated, overhyped, overranked, overpraised, over celebrated. The PAC-10 was the only undefeated conference in bowl games last year. An average UCLA team beat one of the star teams of the SEC. Live with it and get a life!
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9-13-2009 @ 1:02AM
zemog44 said...
The SEC has been sooooo overrated for the past 5 years it's pathetic. Only people from the south continue to say it is the best conference ... and, ... oh yes, you also have a bunch of idiotic sportswriters and dumbasss coaches who also say the same thing. But most of the football fans from outside of the south who really know college football know the SEC is probably no better than the top 5 conferences in the nation. And this year the SEC is really AVERAGE! LSU barely beat Washington (yes, Washington!), Georgia already lost to an Oklahoma State team that gave up 45 points and lost to Houston (Georgia scored 10 points against Oklahoma State!), Tennessee has lost home and away to UCLA, Florida is currently playing their usual cupcake schedule before they win the SEC and are rewarded by getting a BCS Championship game. Alabama for some idiotic reason is ranked 4th in the nation and they lost basically at home last year to Utah (Utah!). Then you have Kentucky, Vanderbuilt, Arkansas, Mississippi State, South Carolina (7-3 final score vs NC State!) and Mississippi. Wow that is sure a powerful league! WHAT A JOKE!!!
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9-13-2009 @ 2:29AM
clearhoads7 said...
I LIVE IN FLORIDA AND I WAS RAISED IN MICHIGAN AND I AM A MICHIGAN FAN AND A GATOR FAN JUST BECAUSE. MICHIGAN HAS BEATEN SEC TEAMS LIKE AUBURN IN A BOWL GAME,I DONT THINK ANTBODY REALLY HAS A COMMAND OF ANY CONFERENCE. LOOK AT BOISE,BYU,TEXAS,USC,WELL AFTER TODAY NORTE DAME DOESNT COUNT. BUT NO TEAM OR CONFERENCE IS IMMUNE TO AN UPSET ON ANY GIVEN SATURDAY.
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9-13-2009 @ 3:03AM
Greg said...
I love CFB and the tradition of each of the major conferences and the storylines of the little guys who come along and "shock the world" against the big boys (ala; BYU, Utah and Boise St.)
UCLA has been down but is still dangerous. They come from a major conference and it should be no surprise that they could beat Tenn, who runs a version of USC's offense which UCLA sees EVERY YEAR!
USC is 4-0 in recent home-and-home series with SEC schools Arkansas and Auburn (hardly "cupcakes" at the time).
Oregon or Cal could schedule Vandy or Kentucky and win those games almost everytime and call themselves "SEC KIllers!"
Only when schools have the guts to schedule the TOP teams from a conference should they get respect. That's why I have more respect tonight for OSU for their willingness to schedule USC than I do for almost all SEC teams. They (the SEC) play FCS teams AS IF they were in-conference and claim that it's "okay" due to their "tough" conference schedule.
Hey, in the Pac-10 ALL teams play each conference team EVERY SEASON in order to find out who is Conference Champion ON THE FIELD. USC and UCLA have NEVER played a FCS (or Div 1AA) team in their history! I hate UCLA, but I love it when an SEC team plays an actual FBS team and when they ALL STOP playing FCS teams I'll respect their conference and their claim to "Be the Best" legit... Fight On!
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9-13-2009 @ 7:48AM
howardfrankfort said...
It's not like the sec has won many championships over the last few years or anything. I mean really, have they?
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9-13-2009 @ 8:33AM
Bob McCallister said...
What muscle? Tennessee was bad last year and are bad this year. But the SEC is the best conference by far, the top teams in the SEC would stomp UCLA.
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9-13-2009 @ 8:37AM
dhellums8997 said...
sec overated the last five years?? hahaha well if overated is three national champs in a row then I will take it. to bad the pac ten cant say that..and tennessee is not one of the top teams in the sec and this coming from an lifelong vol fan...
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9-13-2009 @ 10:48AM
imedajinsokt said...
The SEC is the best CFB conference in the country. But it's the best because, academically, it's almost a complete sham: the lowest graduation rate among the BCS conferences, the worst ratio of increase in academic spending to sports spending in the country, etc. Look up the story with the quote from the philosophy prof recruited to Gainesville who then turned around and went back to the small liberal arts college in the cold Midwest from whence he came because the University of Florida's athletics were in the clover while its academics were "in the weeds." (The lone exception is Vanderbilt, which had the astounding idea to put its athletics department under the control of the university's president instead of the reverse, which is SOP in the SEC. And look where Vanderbilt finishes.)
The SEC is, in effect, AAA professional football in a bunch of Bubbavilles where there are no NFL teams, so that a bunch of dropout Bubbas who can hardly spell c-o-l-l-e-g-e can say "we" in the same sentence with a university's name in it. As John McKay once said about an SEC-type school USC was playing on the road, "Even if we lose, we get to go home. They have to stay here."
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9-13-2009 @ 11:36AM
Bone Rust said...
The SEC needs to eat some humble pie on occasion and that it came at the expense of a fat mouth like Kiffin even makes it a greater learning experience.
We're waitin' in the Swamp for the Vol's and while UCLA did their job in Knoxville (hats off to the Bruins), TN is going to regret hiring Kiffin.
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9-13-2009 @ 11:37AM
theallon168 said...
welcome to http://www.allthedream.com
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9-13-2009 @ 12:02PM
Bone Rust said...
IMEDAJINSOKT;
With all due respect, NCAAFB has changed a great deal since McKay. So have academics and stereotypes.
I agree with many that the NFL draft should be restricted to NCAA seniors, or fourth year players.
But, to state the SEC is comprised of 'drop out Bubba's' is in direct conflict with the facts. For example, the Gator's graduated ALL 13 of last last year seniors.
When speaking of the SEC as a whole (yes, there are schools, like any conference, with horrible graduation rates which seem to correlate with equally horrible w-l records) you have to remember there are schools like UF, Vandy, UAB, Auburn, S. Carolina, etc., which do place education FIRST.
At UF, there has been a more concentrated effort to achieve the academic legacy of all NCAA athletes through the example of Patereno and Notre Dame.
But, 'drop out Bubbas' as a conference......Well, I am a graduate of UF ('82) and it remains a tough school to get into and graduate from regardless of what scholarship is available.
I agree education is the main purpose for all colleges and universities. College presidents meet regularly - all conferences - to find ways to balance athletics and education. Until the NCAA and NFL tighten the draft rules, it is up to coaches like Paterno and Urban Meyer to keep the kids on graduation tracks.
I disagree it is a conference problem; it's a NCAA/NFL/NBA problem in FB and BB. Swimmers, volleyball, Track and Field athletes seem to hang their diplomas from all conferences. The difference is, of course MONEY.
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9-14-2009 @ 11:01AM
imedajinsokt said...
"the Gator's graduated ALL 13 of last last year seniors"
What were they majoring in, "recreation administration" and "leisure studies"? (By the way, when Gators is a plural and not a possessive, there's no apostrophe.)
When speaking of the SEC as a whole (yes, there "there are schools like UF, Vandy, UAB, Auburn, S. Carolina, etc., which do place education FIRST"
That philosophy professor who did a 180 at the University of Florida to go back to the cold Midwest on account of Florida's miserable academics ("in the weeds," he said) did it just last year. And, contrary to Bone Rust's unsupported assertion, above, the SEC still ranks last among BCS conferences in those categories (graduation rate of football players, and increases in instructional spending vs. those in sports spending) I cited.
"At UF, there has been a more concentrated effort to achieve the academic legacy of all NCAA athletes through the example of Patereno and Notre Dame."
a) This sentence is a garbled mess. (How does one "achieve a legacy"?) b) Of what, specifically, does this "more concentrated effort" consist? c) "more concentrated" means what--up from an F to a D-minus?
"Well, I am a graduate of UF ('82) and it remains a tough school to get into and graduate from"
Well, tough for Bone Rust. (See "apostrophe," above.)
"Until the NCAA and NFL tighten the draft rules, it is up to coaches like Paterno and Urban Meyer to keep the kids on graduation tracks."
The problem isn't the draft rules. In fact, if the NFL would allow players to join the league right out of high school (as they're allowed to, say, join the Marines), then perhaps colleges wouldn't be filled with players who are there primarily to play football and function academically at a bare-minimum level.
"I disagree it is a conference problem; it's a NCAA/NFL/NBA problem in FB and BB."
True, but the SEC is the conference with the worst iteration of that problem.
9-13-2009 @ 12:05PM
windatmyback2 said...
I was born and raised in California, a Bruins fan. I now live in Mobile Alabama and have for 9 years now. I hope I can say this and convince anyone reading that I am trying to balance what I know from what I feel. Since I have lived here I have to say that SEC football is at a level I never saw out west. I hear the comments about pac 10 football here and I used to defend them, and each year, until last year, the PAC 10 would crumble overall in bowl games and it was embarrassing. Also in pre conference games often they would lose. It always seemed to me that Oregon teams did not care who they lost to outside the conference, (as Oregon did to Boise St 2 years in a row now) as long as they beat USC then they were happy. How sad. Congrats to UCLA for the win at Tenn, but Tenn is very down this year as I think all of the SEC is except for Florida this year. Even my new adopted team Alabama I think will not be as good this year as they were last year. The PAC 10 needs to win outside the conferene consistently and not just put their season pride on beating USC. I do believe though that the past few years USC was better than even Florida and I wish so much we had that NC matchup and Ohio state was not there.
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9-14-2009 @ 2:08PM
preset standard said...
The Pac-10 needs to win outside their conference more?
In the BCS era, the Pac-10 has the BEST winning percentage vs other BCS conferences. That's better than the SEC, the Big-12, etc.
And your comments about SEC fans caring more about football is true, but it doesn't relate to the conversation about what happens on the field I'm afraid.
9-13-2009 @ 12:16PM
Bone Rust said...
Windatmyback;
I lived in Cali after graduating from UF and had a similar experience with the PAC 10....it was just played differently as if they had 10 more yards added to the length and width of the field. That's the way it seemed to me.
My theory about the Cali teams in the PAC 10 is their philosophical approach to the game is a direct result of the traffic gridlock from SD to SF......'just a theory.
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9-13-2009 @ 1:17PM
Bone Rust said...
Dear Lonnie White:
I see some have taken exception to your comment about PAC 10 teams status against overhyped SEC teams.
Keeping the context of your comment to Tenn. (GA's #1 preseason ranking last year was just crazy), I could not agree more. Coach Kiffin seems to be somewhat creative about a team which will take 4 years to rebuild under the best of circumstances which would not include Kiffin at the helm.
UCLA, a work under construction, came from LA; other than D.C., that's where hype was invented. What that game proved was UCLA knew its position of 'greeness' and played at their potential against a team of imaginary, special effects talent, egged on by a coach who thinks coming from the Oakland Raiders means anything at all in the SEC.
UCLA, not the PAC 10, beat a less than average Tenn. team, not the SEC.
To make the story bigger than it actually was is a Hollywood thing, not a conference (PAC 10 or SEC) commentary.
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9-13-2009 @ 1:36PM
dk4xploracity said...
Is there any more stupid fan than SEC fan? Georgia lost to Oklahoma State; LSU beat the WORST team in the Pac-10 by a touchdown; Tennessee lost to UCLA at home; Alabama lost to Utah in a bowl game...Yet here is SEC fan slobbering their psycho babble about having the best conference????? I wonder why Florida will not play a Big 12 or Pac-10 team for any of their non-conference games??? Because they would lose. The SEC is just like every other conference....They have 1 or 2 elite teams and the rest of the conference is average. Enough!
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9-13-2009 @ 1:46PM
dk4xploracity said...
Windatmyback...You have been gone from the west coast too long. Try doing some research. The Pac-10 was UNDEFEATED in bowl games this past season! As per non-conference games why don't you compare schedules between the Pac-10 and SEC? Did you see Florida's this year???? The Pac-10 is playing teams from every BCS conference. Your conclusions are so far off-base it is ridiculous. Stay in Alabama...The west coast is too smart for you.
Bone Rust...Oh, so when the SEC loses a game it is just one team and not the conference but when you win a game its the entire conference???!!! It is SEC fan who never stops ranting about how great their conference is...Give me a break. Enough!
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